Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics.pdf

A-Z 949pro-drop parameterThe parameter which determines whether a language is a pro-drop language or not. Apositive setting of the parameter allows an empty pro-element to be identified by itsgovernor. This is the case in pro-drop languages.pro-drop languageReferencesproductivityAbility of word-forming elements to be used to form new linguistic expressions.Productivity is a gradient concept that is broken down into unproductive elements (e.g.be-, cf. behead), occasionally productive (or ‘active’) elements (e.g. -ify and -ese, cf.beautify and motherese), and highly productive elements (e.g. re- and -er, cf. retry,player). The explanation and description of productivity is controversial: on the one hand,neologisms and their immediate comprehensibility parallel syntactic ‘creativity,’ but onthe other hand, even as highly productive processes, they are, as a rule, not free of lexicalgaps and exceptions (e.g. *topwards vs sidewards, *teen-something vs twenty-something,? writable vs readable). ( also word formation)ReferencesAronoff, M. 1976. Word formation in generative grammar. Cambridge, MA.Baayen, H. 1992. Quantitative aspects of morphological productivity. In G.Booij and J.van Marle(eds), Yearbook of morphology 1991. Dordrecht. 109–49.Baayen, H. and R.Lieber. 1991. Productivity and English derivation. Linguistics 29. 801–43.Frauenfelder, U. and R.Schreuder. 1992. Constraining psycholinguistic models of morphologicalprocessing and representation: the role of productivity. In G.Booij and J.van Marle (eds),Yearbook of morphology 1991. Dordrecht. 165–83.Kastovsky, D. 1986. The problem of productivity in word formation. Linguistics 24. 585–600.Marle, J.van. 1992. The relationship between morphological productivity and frequency. InG.Booij and J.van Marle (eds), Yearbook of morphology 1991. Dordrecht. 151–63.word formation